The love story between Robert and Clara Schumann is often regarded as one of the most romantic in classical music history. Happily for historians, many of their love letters survive. They document their inner thoughts and emotions, as well as
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On This Day
11 November: Fyodor Dostoevsky Was Born November 11th, 2021“The greatest happiness is to know the source of unhappiness” The Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and journalist Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) explored human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia. His name is sometimes -
Modes of Motion: Poulenc’s Promenades November 10th, 2021 In his 1921 collection Promenades, Francis Poulenc presents us with an odd world of travel. Rarely performed because of its technical and musical difficulties, Promenades gives us an audio image of travel in early 20th century France. One writer compares -
Music in View: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) November 9th, 2021 The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is the largest art museum in the Western United States, holding a collection of more than 142,000 objects. We’ll continue our museum ramblings in through this wide-ranging collection that covers more than -
Mozart and His Circle of Friends I November 8th, 2021 Let’s start this little series on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his circle of friends with a look at the supposed relationship between Mozart and Beethoven. Biographer Otto Jahn related the following anecdote: “Beethoven… was introduced to Mozart, and played to -
On This Day
8 November: César Franck Died November 8th, 2021During the early months of 1890, César Franck (1822-1890) was busy on a number of compositional projects, including his String Quartet and the Trois Chorals for organ. Sadly, in July of that year he was involved in an accident. He -
Franz Liszt: Dante Symphony
Premiered on 7 November 1857 November 7th, 2021Enjoying the shores of Lake Como with Marie d’Agoult in 1837, Franz Liszt (1811-1886) immersed himself in a close reading of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The idea of composing a symphony to Dante’s Divine Comedy, one that would combine music, poetry -
Going It Alone: The Autonomous Musician November 7th, 2021 autonomy: the ability to make your own decisions without being controlled by anyone else – Cambridge Dictionary definition As musicians, we may seek external endorsement and extrinsic motivation through examinations and assessments, the accrual of qualifications such as diplomas, and -
The Symbol of Love: Couperin’s Nightingale November 7th, 2021 French Baroque composer François Couperin (1668–1733), who had a career as a composer, harpsichordist, and organist in the French royal court, was born into a famous family of Parisian musicians. He served in the court of Louis XIV as organiste